Mother Charged 4 Years After Infant Found In Plastic Bag In Cumming

CUMMING, GA — Forsyth County mother Karima Jiwani, 40, is facing multiple charges after authorities say her newborn daughter was found inside of a plastic bag but survived in the 1900 block of Daves Creek Road nearly four years ago.

Jiwani is being charged on suspicion of criminal intent to commit murder, first-degree cruelty to children, aggravated assault and reckless abandonment, Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said at a Friday news conference. She is being held without bond.

Her first court appearance is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. A motive in the case is unknown.

"Baby India is prospering and is happy and healthy," Freeman said. "When those who were supposed to do their best did their worst to her, Forsyth County stepped up in a big way."

He added multiple people, including himself, volunteered to adopt or foster the newborn. Hundreds of people asked how they can help, he said.

"This child was tied up in a plastic bag and thrown into the woods like a bag of trash," Freeman said. "I can’t understand that. I truly wish I could. I struggle, but I truly cannot understand that. It literally is one of the saddest things that I’ve ever seen."

Deputies responded to the scene around 10 p.m., June 6, 2019, to a baby crying. The newborn girl was found abandoned in the wooded area of Daves Creek in southeast Forsyth, authorities said.

Baby India was discovered after two teenage girls convinced a man to check on what they thought was a weird sound, Freeman said. Deputy Terry Roper found the infant, he said. Roper was the deputy who arrested Jiwani Thursday, he said.

"Back then, I called it divine intervention, and I still believe that to this day," Freeman said.

He said evidence shows the birth of Baby India likely took place inside of a car. Investigators said they have leads on the car and are working to locate it.

Freeman said Jiwani drove alone for a significant period of time after Baby India's birth, with the newborn in the car.

The arrest comes 10 months after the father was identified through familial DNA. Freeman said Jiwani was identified in the past week through DNA. He noted the father did not know of Jiwani's pregnancy or of the birth and abandonment of Baby India.

Jiwani has a history of concealed pregnancies and "surprise births," he said. Other children were found with Jiwani, and they are in the care of the Department of Family and Children's Service, Freeman said. They range from school-aged to near adult aged.

The Forsyth County Major Crimes Unit investigated the case, which took thousands of hours, Freeman said. The FBI Atlanta office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation assisted in the case.

Forty deputies participated in the execution of multiple search warrants Thursday.

Graphic body cam footage, lasting 1 minute and 44 seconds long, was released via Facebook on June 25, 2019, shortly after Baby India was found.

"For God's sake, tell me any explanation on the face of this Earth to justify doing that to a child," Freeman said. "It don't exist."